Apple Investigates China iPhone Death Allegations

Apple Inc. said Monday that it is investigating a case in which the family of a 23-year-old woman alleges that she was electrocuted by her iPhone.

Reuters

A visitor tries an iPhone at an Apple store in Beijing March 28, 2013.

Though details about the case remain sketchy, it has caught the imagination of social media users in China, who have been spreading word about the case and warning not to use devices while they are charging.

According to a report in China’s official state-run Xinhua news agency, relatives of the woman in China’s western Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region are alleging the woman died after trying to answer a call while her iPhone was charging. An officer with the local Public Security Bureau said Monday that an “elementary inspection” showed the woman, named Ma Ailun, was electrocuted.